Saturday, July 05, 2014

Very Garlicky Sautéed Chicken

Nothing better than a good day in the kitchen. My mother used to say that cooking is a good therapy. this is the recipe today, I hope you enjoy it. Bon Appetit

Prep Time: 15 min

Makes/Yield: 4

Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

• 3lb 3oz (1.5kg) chicken, cut into 6 pieces, or 6 chicken pieces

• salt and pepper

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• 6 tbsp butter

• 15 garlic cloves, unpeeled

• 1 cup red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 bouquet garni

• 2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped

• 1 cup chicken stock

Sauté the chicken and garlic

Steps

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and 1 tbsp of the butter in a large pan over moderate heat until foaming. Add the chicken legs, skin side down, and sauté for about 5 minutes, until they begin to brown. 2. Add the chicken breasts and continue cooking gently for 10–15 minutes, until very brown. Turn and brown the other side. 3. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves. Shake the pan gently to distribute the garlic in among the chicken pieces, then cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.

Add the other ingredients

Steps

1. Stir in the vinegar and simmer, uncovered, until reduced by half; it will take about 10 minutes to get to this stage. Add the tomato paste to the pan and stir to mix with the juices, scraping the base of the pan with a wooden spoon to incorporate all the chicken flavors. Cook the tomato paste briefly to eliminate any raw taste, making sure it does not stick to the pan or the flavor of the sauce will be spoiled. Add the bouquet garni and tomatoes to the pan and mix into the chicken. 2. Cover again and simmer for 5–10 minutes longer, until the chicken pieces are tender when pierced with a 2-pronged fork and the juices run clear. If there is any trace of pink in the juices, return the chicken to the pan for a few minutes longer before testing again. If some pieces are done before others, remove them from the pan, put them on a plate, loosely cover with foil, and keep them warm in a warm oven; overcooking the chicken will result in tough meat.

Make the garlic and vinegar sauce

Steps

1. Remove all the chicken from the pan and keep warm in the oven, set to its lowest heat. Add the stock to the juices in the pan and boil for 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until well reduced and concentrated in flavor, again scraping the base of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the flavor. Strain the sauce through a sieve back into the saucepan, pressing hard on the garlic to extract the pulp. 2. Cut the remaining butter into small pieces. Bring the sauce back to a boil, then remove from the heat and add the butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly and moving the pan on and off the heat. You should see the sauce beginning to thicken, and develop a glossy sheen. Do not boil; the butter should make the sauce creamy and rich without melting to oil, as it will if it boils. Taste for seasoning. Arrange the chicken on warmed plates and spoon over a generous amount of the sauce, serving the remaining sauce on the side.